I grew up absolutely loving lasagna when I was a kid. It was a special treat that we would only have a couple of times a year or sometimes on Christmas Eve and I would always get so excited because the cheesy gooey layers of American-style lasagna are just so delicious, comforting and indulgent – it’s definitely something to look forward to and savour.
On this side of the Atlantic, lasagna isn’t usually what I grew up with, often using béchamel sauce instead of cheese and well… It’s just different. It’s not bad, but it’s not the same. I like anyone else, can’t help but prefer and crave my favourite childhood foods – they are as much memories as they are flavours, so I had to learn how to recreate the lasagna of my youth myself, in a different country with different types of ingredients and without the convenience of the same store-bought jars my family would use. I think I’ve finally cracked it but if I’m completely honest, I believe I’ve somehow managed to make it even better!
One of the things I love most about lasagna is that it can be made for dinner today and be reheated in the days to follow for lunches or dinners. For whatever reason, it seems to only get better as leftovers so it’s not like there’s a sacrifice. It’s more of a gift that keeps on giving, which is such a great thing for a busy week. I actually prefer day old lasagna – there’s just something about how all the layers sort of soak into each other and how the microwave just makes it melt beautifully.
I’ve specified shredded mozzarella here and I think it’s important to point out that I mean the stuff in the bag at the grocery store. There are times when supermarket cheese shred in a bag is not the right choice or will not work, but this is not one of those times. Do yourself a favour and don’t try to be fancy here – buy the cheese in a bag and you’ll thank me for it later. The alternative is using the balls of mozzarella which are delicious, but they will likely make your lasagna a wet, soggy, sloppy mess of sadness.
Try not to get too hung up on the directions. Different packets of lasagna will have 8 or 10 or even 12 sheets. Layer them however you can make it work – it doesn’t have to be just like mine. I think I ended up with 2 layers of 3 sheets and one layer of 4. You don’t even notice it really once it’s baked. Using the fresh lasagna sheets you find in the refrigerated aisle of the grocery store means they don’t need any cooking ahead of time, so they’re more convenient and I think they even taste better. Also, keep in mind that when you’re using the ricotta, you won’t be able to spread it over every inch of the lasagna sheets – don’t even worry about it. Do your best, leave it messy and remember that it’s going to melt anyway, so perfection isn’t at all necessary. Let’s get started!
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 50g unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 500g minced beef (I use 12% fat for this recipe)
- Salt & pepper
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 beef stock pot or a crumbled beef stock cube
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 500g passata plus 1/3 of the jar of water to swish out the dregs
- 2 tablespoons sugar or caster sugar
- 250g ricotta
- 500g shredded mozzarella, divide in half
- 300g fresh lasagna sheets
- Parmesan cheese to top (optional)
Method
- Put a large heavy based pot or casserole that has a lid over medium heat and melt the butter together with the olive oil. Add the garlic, dried basil, dried oregano and chilli flakes and cook, stirring for 2 or 3 minutes until the garlic is soft, taking care not to burn it.
- Add the beef to the pot and season with salt & pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break it up as it browns and cook, stirring a bit until the meat is completely browned.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, beef stock pot or crumbled stock cube and tomato paste. Stir to combine as it cooks a little. Pour in the passata along with about 1/3 of the jar of water, swished around to get the dregs out. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Bring to the boil and once boiling, pop the lid on and reduce the heat to low. Simmer covered for about 15 or 20 minutes, stirring once or twice during the cooking time.
- Preheat your oven to 200°C / 180° Fan / 400°F and grease a 30x23cm Pyrex casserole dish or other deep baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, oil or butter – whatever you have will be fine. Set aside.
- Meanwhile add the ricotta cheese to a mixing bowl along with 250g of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Use a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon to stir this together until it’s well mixed. It will be quite sticky and stodgy, so just do your best.
- When the sauce has finished simmering it’s time to assemble the lasagna. Start by ladling a small amount of sauce into the dish – just a scant amount to cover the bottom. Add your first layer of lasagna sheets. Spoon in about half of the ricotta & mozzarella mixture and sort of spread it out in globs the best you can – just evenly scatter it – you won’t be able to spread it out like cake frosting and you don’t need to. Ladle over some sauce (not too much) and use the back of the ladle to spread it out a little with the cheese. Follow with a layer of lasagna sheets. Repeat using the rest of the ricotta mixture. Top with more sauce, leaving a little behind for the top layer. Add the final layer of pasta sheets.
- For the top layer, add the remaining sauce – you should have just about enough to lightly cover the top. Sprinkle the other 250g of shredded mozzarella evenly across the top. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese across the top – I didn’t give a measurement for this because you can use as much or as little as you like. I usually just grate it directly onto the top with a small hand grater. To finish, drizzle a little olive oil across the top – this will help the cheese to brown – and sprinkle with black pepper.
- Pop the dish into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until all the cheese has melted and it’s golden brown on top. Cut into squares and serve hot.
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